Well CRAP

And now Robin Williams has passed:

On August 11, 2014, at approximately 11:55 a.m, Marin County Communications received a 9-1-1 telephone call reporting a male adult had been located unconscious and not breathing inside his residence in unincorporated Tiburon, CA. The Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Tiburon Fire Department and Southern Marin Fire Protection District were dispatched to the incident with emergency personnel arriving on scene at 12:00 pm. The male subject, pronounced deceased at 12:02 pm has been identified as Robin McLaurin Williams, a 63-year-old resident of unincorporated Tiburon, CA.

An investigation into the cause, manner, and circumstances of the death is currently underway by the Investigations and Coroner Division s of the Sheriff’s Office. Preliminary information developed during the investigation indicates Mr. Williams was last seen alive at his residence, where he resides with his wife, at approximately 10:00 pm on August 10, 2014. Mr. Williams was located this morning shortly before the 9-1-1 call was placed to Marin County Communications. At this time, the Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made.

Regardless of what you might think of his politics, Robin Williams is, in my opinion, the funniest man of the last 50 years. I predicted, after seeing The World According to Garp that he would eventually win an Oscar for his acting talent, and he did for his portrayal of psychologist Sean McGuire in Good Will Hunting.

I’ve never seen a faster comedian, or one better at improv. In 1990 while at Kingsboro Psychiatric Center in Brooklyn, New York on location for the film Awakenings (where Williams played a psychiatrist) director Penny Marshall appeared (along with the cast) in a video feed at the American Comedy Awards. She was congratulating her brother Garry Marshall for his winning an American Achievement Award from that organization. During her speech (with Robin just over her shoulder) she mentioned that they were on set “at a menstrual hospital.” In an INSTANT, Williams piped up: “A menstrual hospital! It’s a period piece!” Penny Marshall turned several interesting shades of red.

Here, I think, is one of the best examples of William’s brilliance – improv using a prop from the audience (Updated with a YouTube clip of the entire piece. Improv starts at about 2:22 and runs to the end of the clip.):

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGhfxKUH80M?rel=0]
The world is now a grayer place.  I hope he and Jonathan Winters are making a lot of people very, very happy right now.

Edited to add:

I think this might have been a little more real that we realized:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s26WxsgyKE?rel=0]
I wish someone could have found him his Grail.

It’s Not About Me

But in a way, it is.

Like (apparently) a lot of gunbloggers, “I have very few friends in meatspace”. I “know” a lot more people through my interaction with them in the interwebs than I do in person. When, as it happens, someone I “know” or “know of” dies, I feel the loss. The first time this happened to me was when Acidman passed in 2006. When Cathy Siepp died in 2007 I was affected, not because I had ever corresponded with her, but because I’d read so much of what she’d written.

William the Coroner passed away in November. I had listened to William on Vicious Circle, and had seen his comments at other blogs. I had read a few of his posts, but I didn’t “know” him. When Neptunis Lex recently perished in a plane crash, I didn’t comment because I hadn’t really read his blog and really didn’t “know” him either, but both of these men had significant effects on people I do know, and I mourned their loss.

Today we hear that Newbius has joined the ranks of of Bloggers of the Great Beyond. Again, I didn’t read Newbius, and I’ve never met him, but when I clicked over to his blog and saw his blogroll I was taken aback. Under “Deep Thoughts” he has listed only seven blogs, and mine is one of them. The other six are extremely fine company to be in.

And I had no idea. I am honored that he thought well enough of my work to put TSM on his short list. I am abashed that I did not “know” him well enough to be aware of that fact.

I wish I’d gotten a chance to meet the man, and try his pizza. Dammit.

I think I’ll pass on his recommendation:

Stop reading this and go hug somebody important to you. Do it now.

Fair winds, Newbius.

RIP, Acidman

Three years ago today, Rob “Acidman” Smith passed away from a pulmonary embolism.

Just, damn.

Three years ago, I wrote this:

I’ve been reading Acidman since about the time I discovered the blogosphere. I started this blog just so I could debate one of Rob’s commenters on the topic of gun control.

Say what you want about Rob, he didn’t pull any punches. He said what he meant, meant what he said, and took no shit from anybody. I admire and respect that. It was fascinating watching the ongoing train wreck that was often his life, and I feel for both Sam (his daughter) and Quinton (son from his second wife “the bloodless cunt”), and especially for his Grandmother. Outliving your children is one thing. Outliving your grandchildren must be especially hard.

Rest in peace, Acidman. If there’s an afterlife, I hope yours is a lot like Costa Rica, with sweet nubile women, a working Roscoe, and all the good food, good beer, and good company you could ever want.

I still get an occasional visitor from Rob’s archives. Per his request, Gut Rumbles is still up, and his past posts are rotated around the front page.

It’s really kind of odd, but I “know” more people through the internet who have died than I know personally who have. Cathy Siepp in March of 2007. AR15.com prolific poster “Eric the (fill in the blank) Hun.” Airboss. Christiana Hendrix, wife of Mike Hendrix of Cold Fury. I’m sure there are more, but those come immediately to mind.

Yesterday both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died, earlier this week Ed McMahon passed. I took a look at Rob’s archives to see what he had to say about them. Nothing on Farrah or Ed, but he had quite a bit to say about Michael:

In MY humble opinion, Michael Jackson is a great performer but one of the most fucked-up human beings (if he’s even human anymore) on the face of the planet. Look at what the confused bastard has done to himself through plastic surgery over the years. He resembles a goddam ALIEN, for crying out loud.

He is a weird dude.

He can sing, he can dance and he can entertain. I don’t know why he couldn’t be happy with those abilities looking just the way he did when he was born. I am not nearly the good-looking guy I was when I was 26 years old. Years of bar-life, shiftwork, hard-drinking and hard-living have taken a toll on me. My hair is gray silver, my beard is the same color and I don’t have the same sparkle in my eyes that I did 25 years ago.

But I remain pretty much who I was back then.

And he remained that way to the end, I think.

Michael Jackson is one fucked-up individual, but I believe that the people going after his ass for child molestation are more fucked-up than he is.

I dreamed that I played basketball with Michael Jordan last night. I was proud, and I remember thinking in the locker room after the game, when Mike shook my hand, “I have played with THE VERY BEST, and I didn’t embarrass myself.” I regretted waking up from that one.

When I start dreaming about Michael Jackson, someone drag me off and shoot me.

What do YOU think is an erotic fruit? (and any reply containing the name of Michael Jackson WILL be deleted.)

Is Michael Jackson a pedophile? I don’t know, but I DO KNOW what he’s guilty of. He’s different. In fact, that crazy bastard is downright ALIEN if you look at what he’s done to himself over the years.

But that shit doesn’t make him a criminal.

People are always too eager to jump on ANYBODY who is “different.” I know that fact because I’ve been different for my entire life. Individuals suffer when they don’t join the mob.

Think back to high school. You needed to wear the “right” clothes, hang around the “cool” people or face scorn and ostrascism. I tried that shit for a while, until I realized that MY worth wasn’t what some fucking spoiled teenager said it was.

Being different is no crime. But being different WILL bring you a lot of grief in life. Just try it and see if a mob doesn’t come after you.

They will. They always have, too. Just read history.

Like I said, Rob didn’t pull any punches. He said what he meant, meant what he said, and took no shit from anybody.

I still miss the guy.

Awww, Dammit.

News…

This is Sam. Rob has passed away. They found him at 2:00 this morning slumped over on the couch. He did not shoot himself and no pills or alcohol were found in the house. When I find out anything else I’ll let you know. Out of respect for my family please do not leave nasty comments.
~Sam

I’ve been reading Acidman since about the time I discovered the blogosphere. I started this blog just so I could debate one of Rob’s commenters on the topic of gun control.

Say what you want about Rob, he didn’t pull any punches. He said what he meant, meant what he said, and took no shit from anybody. I admire and respect that. It was fascinating watching the ongoing train wreck that was often his life, and I feel for both Sam and Quinton, and especially for his Grandmother. Outliving your children is one thing. Outliving your grandchildren must be especially hard.

Rest in peace, Acidman. If there’s an afterlife, I hope yours is a lot like Costa Rica, with sweet nubile women, a working Roscoe, and all the good food, good beer, and good company you could ever want. You will be sorely missed.

And if people do leave nasty comments either here or at Rob’s, well, I’ll know what quality of person would do such a thing, and consider the source.

Only One Post Today

GO READ THIS, and remember the kind of people who died this day, two years ago. The average, the exceptional. Black, white, yellow, red, and every shade and tint in between. Catholics, Jews, Protestants, atheists, Buddists, Sihks, and yes, Muslims. Americans and citizens of dozens of other countries.

Thank you Kim du Toit for the link to this story.

When you’re done with that, go read Michele Catalano’s blog:

There’s nothing I could write today that would add to this, so I won’t. Normal blogging will resume tomorrow.